Written and directed by David Lowery (A Ghost Story) and featuring magnetic performances from Academy Award winners Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek, The Old Man & The Gun breathes invigorating new life into an old genre.
Based on the true story of career criminal and prison-escape artist Forrest Tucker, the film revives a cinematic tradition of reflecting on America’s outlaw fixation while delivering an exhilarating tale of felonious mischief.
Having first been put away at age 15, Forrest (Redford, All Is Lost) has spent much of his life in jail and much of his energy breaking out—he successfully escaped incarceration 18 times. Forrest is now in his seventies, free, and living in a retirement community, yet he cannot resist the lure of another bank heist. He assembles a gang who, though armed, rely mainly on creativity and charisma to claim their loot. They are pursued by Detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck, A Ghost Story, Manchester by the Sea), whose official duty is galvanized by the purity of his love for the chase. With Redford subtly invoking his own storied resumé as the embodiment of a certain masculine ideal, and a sublime supporting cast that includes Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover, Tom Waits (Seven Psychopaths), and Elisabeth Moss (The Seagull, The Square), The Old Man & The Gun is both entertaining and elegiac.
Infused with Hollywood’s history of outlaw charm, this is the type of glorious bank-robber movie they just do not make anymore.
“The film makes plenty of mileage from trading on the charm of a good bad boy, and Redford’s long experience in playing such roles serves him beautifully here; he knows by now he doesn’t have to push his attractiveness to be ingratiating. His work here is natural, subtle, ingratiating and doesn’t miss a trick.” (Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter)
“The Old Man & the Gun eschews pastiche for a sweet, affable character study that resurrects Redford’s original star power with a wet kiss. The entire picture amounts to a low-key cinematic resurrection.” (Eric Kohn, IndieWire)
“The various marvels of the movie aren’t just the sparks between Redford and Spacek or Waits’ dry humor but often, Lowery’s inspired direction.” (Gregory Ellwood, The Playlist)